Critique 5

The Goat or Who is Sylvia? June 10-July 8 | Reviewed by Melody Nixon

The play’s many duplicitous elements – the happiest of families and the
most absurd of downfalls; personal fulfillment and the responsibilities
of fame; personal values and the mould of societal values, are perhaps
best summed up by its title. The goat is an object but also a metaphorical scapegoat. It is the goat that must be blamed for Martin’s actions –
the fact that Martin truly loves Sylvia too awful to consider. The question
‘Who is Sylvia?’ is representative of the improper inclinations that
we all may have at some point in our lives. In this way, Albee’s play
challenges us to ask who our own Sylvia might be. .
劇中充斥著兩面極端的例子─最快樂的家庭以及最荒謬的垮臺、個人慾望的滿足以及名
譽帶來的責任、個人價值觀以及社會價值觀的模式─在在都被此劇標題充分點出。「山
羊」可以單單指的是一個物件，也可以解讀成比喻手法上的「替罪羔羊」，這是一隻
用來為馬汀的行為替罪的羊─代表著馬汀的確愛慘了蘇維亞而令人無法衡量。而「誰
是蘇維亞？」這樣的問題代表著我們在生命中某一刻都曾可能出現過的不正當傾向。
藉由這樣的方式，阿爾比挑戰了我們的價值觀並且讓我們自省：何為我們各自心中的
「蘇維亞」？ .